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After years of blogging for a small email list, I’d finally slipped through a door at The Huffington Post with a story about discovering my purpose. In it, I offered a free trial for a course I’d created to help others discover their own callings.
I was excited like a kid at Christmas until I saw the first comment:
“As I read your article, I found myself entertaining hope again. Then I got to the end and saw you were just trying to sell me something. I want to judge you but God says I am supposed to forgive you. I don’t know if I can, but I hope God will.”
Shame rose up in me like steam from a whistling teapot as I turned the comment over and over in my head.
The blistering effects of criticism
Criticism can blister us like a red burner. The wound will heal, but it’s unnerving to keep working so near the hot stove.
I thought The Huffington Post door would open the door to a lot more opportunities. But as they expanded their blogger platform, readership dwindled and became divided.
I continued to post there, but I focused primarily on my own list. I blogged steadily, asked for feedback, invited comments, ramped up social sharing, and offered free stuff. I did everything I knew to do.
Read the full post on Goins Writer
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